A DARK cloud has settled over Kabwe’s Makulu Township after 67-year-old Esther Mutalaba discovered that her only son, who left home on Tuesday morning for his usual car-wash job, had tragically died after being swept away by drainage water during a heavy downpour.
The deceased, identified as Cypriano Mumba, reportedly told his mother that morning that he would be back later in the day as he always did, but this time, fate had other plans.
Mutalaba was later informed that her son had been swept to death by a strong drainage current while trying to retrieve his phone, which had fallen into the water.
According to Prime TV, Mutalaba only learnt about her son’s death two days after the incident.
She said she had waited for her son’s return anxiously throughout the day, expecting him to walk in as usual.
“When I was told he was the one involved in the drainage incident, my heart froze. I felt my entire body weaken,” she narrated.
“I am still in disbelief that the boy I spoke to in the morning is gone just like that,” she lamented.
Local authorities revealed that Mumba’s body was found nearly 400 metres inside an underground drainage system after he got trapped near the Civic Centre.
Mutalaba remains in deep shock over what she describes as an undeserved and painful death that she is struggling to understand.
“He did not deserve to die like that. My son was all I had,” she said. What I desperately need right now is strength. My heart is too broken to hold on.”
Meanwhile, family members and neighbours have gathered at the funeral house to offer comfort and support to Mutalaba during this difficult time.
By Dorica Kapwaya
Kalemba, November 14, 2025.
